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King Statement on Upcoming Meeting between President Obama and Egyptian President Morsi

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, issued the following statement in response to reports that President Obama has invited newly-elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to meet with him in the U.S.:

“I have had real concerns about Morsi from the start and I urge President Obama to be direct and unambiguous in his initial encounter with Morsi. The President must make it clear that the United States is not going to engage in any kind of politically correct game with Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood and will not even begin to consider pro-Islamist and insulting proposals.

“One of Morsi’s first public statements after his election was a pledge to seek the release of Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh”, imprisoned here after inspiring the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Even though such a release is clearly off the table and surely will not happen no matter how hard Morsi tries, his pledge was a disgraceful way for him to start his presidency and President Obama must make that point emphatically. Morsi may say that he is not an extremist and wants to maintain a friendly relationship with the United States, but such statements raise serious concerns as to how his policies will actually develop. Morsi’s words thus far raise very critical doubts as to whether we can expect real cooperation from Egypt on security matters and whether he will in fact honor the letter and the spirit of Egypt’s treaty obligations with Israel.”